DAWN OF THE TITANS! [Monday Meeting Notes]

That’s right! The 2 Book Titans Rising and Titanomachy Kickstarter starts tomorrow (as I write this), Tuesday the 29th at 2pm Eastern US time!

The time of the Titans is here!

This Kickstarter is for both books, the totally new Titans Rising, and also for a traditionally printed version of Titanomachy (which had previously only been available as PDF and PoD via DTRPG). You can pledge for either or both!

Ultimately, our goal with this Kickstarter is to get both books trad printed and into stores to add to the already existing Scion 2e books already available in retail stores through the traditional distribution system. So, as you back this, you’ll be helping us make more Scion 2e available for more people to enjoy!

But that’s not the only reason you might want to be a backer:

First off, you will receive sections of the manuscript for Titans Rising throughout the KS campaign, and backers are able to comment on our official input form about what they are reading as each piece of the text is revealed.

Not only does give you a chance to provide early community input, but it also gives backers a chance to back out before the KS is over if it’s just not the book for them. (Although I would suggest waiting until most if not all of the text is revealed as those last chapters are often some pretty definitive ones!)

In addition, you get all the additional stuff besides just the book or books, depending on your pledge, as well as whichever Stretch Goals we attain thanks to our backers. Adventures, Jumpstarts, Ready Made Characters, electronic wallpapers, t-shirt discounts, and new special projects like Companion books, Audio Dramas, special editions – these are all things that have been unlocked for backers during previous KSs.

8 Directions art by Digital Art Chefs

Once the KS is over, we’ll have our standard BackerKit page up for this and that does give folks a chance to participate in contributing for the books and some of the additional material, but rarely all of it. Plus, using BackerKit, a backer can upgrade their pledge, but not if they didn’t back during the KS.

Now, some folks can’t pledge now, and we get that, so we try and leave the BackerKit site up for folks to get traditionally printed copies. And some folks are OK with waiting for the PDF and PoD to be available on DTRPG – and that works too. If you engage with the KS campaign, though, you’ll get the PDF early as the Backer PDF, and you’ll receive a discount coupon for the PoD.

Just a couple more reasons to pledge. Oh, and just to underline that by pledging, once you consider all of the extra material you receive, you’re getting the book (or books) at less than the retail price for just the book(s).

Now enough with sales info and on to our creative teams, please do join us for a KS “Kickoff” at 4pm ET over on our Twitch channel a couple of hours after the KS starts!

Scion developer Hiromi Cota will be leading a group of Scion writers in a roundtable discussion about the Titans Rising Kickstarter. The group will tease what’s to come in the book and take questions from the viewers should time permit. Panelists scheduled to appear include Coyote Crow, Cat Evans, Geoffrey McVey. Zachery Naldrett, Spider B. Perry, and Gilbert Ramos.

Hope to see you there!

8 Directions art by Navella Studios

As The Titans Rise, We Also:

Strangely enough, even on the day before a crowdfunding campaign starts, our Monday Meeting crew did in fact have other things we discussed!

For example, last week we released the Trinity Continuum: Assassins VTT PDF, and we want to be sure that y’all know just what this fancy thing is: it’s pretty much a Starter Set for TC: Assassin, not just an adventure.

Here’s some official blurb copy:

Rat in a Burning Cage, a VTT Starter Set for Trinity Continuum: Assassins!

Porvenir should be a sanctuary for those who dwell in the Shadow; a place for assassins to hide out, retire, and wile away their autumn years.  This jungle town is far from the utopia it’s purported to be. Someone has crossed a line in Porvenir, and it’s for your assassins to pick up the pieces, even as every member of this Shadow community guns for you.

Rat in a Burning Cage is an introductory scenario for Trinity Continuum: Assassins designed to make its play easy and fun at in-person and virtual tabletops. Trinity Continuum: Assassins uses the Storypath System, provided in the pages of this book!

Rat in a Burning Cage includes:

  •  Five playable characters complete with character sheets.
  •  A story in three acts, perfect for a virtual tabletop one-shot or convention play.
  •  Maps (both gridded and non gridded) and handouts for use in your virtual games.
  •  Incidental sounds and music
  •  Printable battlemap and handouts.
  •  The complete TC Assassins Token set along with the 5 RMCs.
  •  All the Masteries, Edges, and Storypath system mechanics you need.

This is something new for the Onyx Path team! More than a jumpstart, more than a PDF, there’s a lot going on here to make your experience as rich as possible. It’s usable for both VTT AND live gaming around your table, and anything in-between.

There are some unofficial games and APs of Rat popping up, and we have an Actual Play on Friday, September 1st at 8pm EDT on our Twitch channel that you can check out!

It’s the Final Days for two, count ’em, two DTRPG sales this week:

The Summer of Darkness Sale on the Storytellers Vault marketplace on DTRPG has
switched to World of Darkness. Most of our WoD 20th titles are on sale:

https://www.storytellersvault.com/sale.php?manufacturers_id=4261

The Cosmic Horror/Cthulhu Mythos Sale on DTRPG is finishing up and
we have Scion: Masks of the Mythos, They Came From Beneath the Sea!,
and a few Chronicles of Darkness titles included:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/sale.php?manufacturers_id=4261

8 Directions art by Gong Studios

Time To Get Serious, For a Second:

Something popped up over the last week that I’d like to touch on as while the incident only affected one TTRPG publisher directly, it’s the sort of scary scenario that would be a body-blow to any one of us.

Our friends over at Handiwork Games had a pallet of their Beowulf RPG books stolen – over $20k of books – en-route to shipping to US folks. Anybody who has worked in a store or at a convention knows that Five Fingered Discounts are inevitable as you can’t watch everybody all the time, but this ain’t that. Our industry also has been dealing with internet piracy of our books and files for as long as we’ve been creating PDFs (and longer, actually) – and this ain’t that either!

I dunno what theft on this scale should be called, maybe something like “Pallet-Jackers”, but losing that many books and the costs and values assigned to them, well that’s not just Handiwork‘s problem, it’s tough for KS runners everywhere who have to pay for new ways to protect their projects, and that trickles down to KS backers, too. And as for retailers, they are hit by losing sales since the stolen stuff is dumped on EBay and secondary markets. Our hobby as a whole just isn’t so big that chunks of deliverable games can be torn away like that.

Now, the gang over at Handiworks have been assuring people that they are OK, and I’m sure they will figure out how to get past the loss of those books – they may even be able to get some back if the thieves can be caught. I know they already have some leads and have received tips, so that’s something at least. But it still sucks, they are a wonderful small company that are making a go of it in this crazy biz and surely did not need this weirdness in the midst of con season.

So, maybe, if you were thinking of picking up one of their projects, this might be a great time to lend some support. Heck, even a brief note on their social media to let them know you’re pulling for them might be just the thing to brighten their day!

If all of gaming is the universe, well, we’re all in it together, some on their worlds and us with our:

MANY WORLDS, ONE PATH!


BLURBS!


KICKSTARTER/CROWDFUNDING!

Coming Tuesday, August 29th at 2pm Eastern US!


Titanomachy and Titans Rising Kickstarter!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/titans-rising-and-titanomachy-for-scion-2nd-edition-rpg


Onyx Path Media!

This week:

Eddy, Dixie, and D talk about virtual tabletops and some upcoming VTT products!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/


Please check out our attached media schedule for the videos on our Twitch channel this week! In particular, keep those eyes open for our Storypath Showcase, where we give an excellent profile of our various Storypath games and how to play them!

MEDIA HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

The Old Ways Podcast has been running one of the scenarios in They Came from Beyond the Grave! – the Masque of the Hideous Heart – and you can watch all three parts on YouTube starting here: https://youtu.be/AauoK9H2Q3w?si=eTAn6nWoyJiFvlfx

The Onyx Path News discusses recent and upcoming releases! You can find it on our YouTube channel (click the bell to be informed when we go live!) but if you missed the last episode, here it is: https://youtu.be/yWjZt1djscA?si=Kw7vSzOdztQF07uc


Virtual Tabletop!

NEW!
They Came From Beneath the Sea! on Roll20 VTT!
https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/22308/they-came-from-beneath-the-sea

Here are some more shots from the They Came From Beneath the Sea! Compendium!

And there’s also the Scion Jumpstart, all ready for Roll20 VTT fun!

https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/bundle/21165/a-light-extinguished-a-jumpstart-for-scion-second-edition

More news and links when we have them!

The Scion: Origin and Scion Hero Compendiums are now available on Roll20!

https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/publisher/1716/onyx-path-publishing

Scion is just the start! They Came From Beneath the Sea! and other
Onyx Path RPGs are in development for Roll20 virtual tabletop!

The first of our official Scion sheets designed for Foundry VTT are
now available!

Direct Link: https://foundryvtt.co

Looking for more virtual tabletop resources? We have a selection of
Tokens, Encounters, and more available now at DriveThruRPG!

Get ’em here: https://bit.ly/3SnrNJ7


Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to provide our traditionally printed books out into your local game stores. Game stores can order via their usual distributors, and can also contact Studio2 directly. And individuals can check out our projects via the links below!

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books, dice, and screens? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles in PDF and PoD versions at DriveThruRPG.com!

LAST DAYS!!!

The 2nd half of the Summer of Darkness Sale is live on the Storytellers
Vault
marketplace. Almost all of our World of Darkness PDFs are
on sale!

https://www.storytellersvault.com/sale.php?manufacturers_id=4261

The Cosmic Horror/Cthulhu Mythos Sale on DrivethruRPG has launched and
we have Scion: Masks of the Mythos, They Came From Beneath the Sea,
and a few Chronicles of Darkness titles included:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/sale.php?manufacturers_id=4261

Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

Check out Melody Through the Mirrorshade Lens and Facets of Truth, as well as Trinity Continuum: Terat and The Hollow Courts on Kindle in the Kindle store!


On Sale This Week!

Nothing like a good book! This Wednesday on DTRPG we curl up with the Scion Dragon: Library Tasty Bit PDF!


Conventions!

As we are slowly returning to attending conventions in person after the current COVID-19 outbreak, keep an eye out here for more physical and virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with!

GameHoleCon (Oct 19th – 22nd) has updated their Exhibitor list, and we’re on it!:
https://www.gameholecon.com/

And also: Virtual GameHoleCon is back on: https://virtual.gameholecon.com/



We’ll be part of the Studio 2 booth at PAX Unplugged (December 1st – 3rd):
https://unplugged.paxsite.com/

Game Night With Onyx Path Publishing at Start.Playing is the last Friday of the month! Come play some Scion 2nd Edition in celebration of the Titans Rising Kickstarter campaign starting on Tuesday, the 20th! (But any of our game lines are welcome all day long!)

Please spread the word about GMing games as much as
possible. Details on how list a game are at the bottom of the page in
the FAQ:

https://startplaying.games/event/game-night-onyx-path


Project status updates!

Our full list of projects will be available monthly on our blog! Check out July’s full list report here:

https://theonyxpath.com/release-roundup-july-2023/embed/#?secret=CqAtmtiPTr#?secret=kqY4g4nMAM

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY

Here are the projects that moved to the next stage of production:

Manuscript Approval

TC Aether – Aether Companion

  • Eddy: Another of our TC: Aether supplements, this one is now ready to be reviewed by our team!

Tasty Bit – They Came from Camp Murder Lake!: Cabin in the Woods

  • Eddy: As I mentioned last week, this one was pretty much nailed down early on, so it pretty speedily made its way to approval now.

Post-Editing Development

They Came From – Heroes of Action and Wonder!

  • [For Matthew]: This stretch goal of action and wondrous heroes has come back from editing, and I can’t wait to read it!

TC: Aberrant – From the Shadows

  • Eddy: One of our TC: Aberrant supplements, this covers espionage and Talents in Trinity Continuum: Aberrant. I’ll have a lot of mixed feelings about this one, as I really love superhero spy-fi stuff, but it was also one of the last books developed by Leath.

ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

  • Ex3 Many Faced Strangers – Reference Hunt continueth as Danielle enters the search.
  • Ex3 Eight Directions – Map Assets with Navella… now we cross our fingers.
  • The World Below – KS art contracting.
  • M20 Faces of Magick – Contacting KMJ.
  • M20 Victorian Jumpstart – Should be seeing splats this week.
  • SCION God 2e – On my to do list for this week.
  • SCION Titans Rising – TUESDAY!
  • TC Aether – Doing up the art buy… 

In Layout

  • Ex Essence Novella I – What Lies Forgotten – Dixie is knocking through that.
  • Ex3 Across the 8 Directions – Files with Josh… well other than the maps that is.
  • HtV Jumpstart – Working on this…
  • SCION Once and Future – …And this…
  • W20 Icons of Rage – …And this.
  • TCF Classified – Gathering up files for Ron Thompson.

Proofing

  • Wallpapers for Essence – OK’d by Paradox.
  • Ex Essence Screen – OK’d by Paradox.
  • Scion Dragon Jumpstart – 2nd proof off to MK.
  • TC Adventure Addendum
  • Ex Essence Novel 2 – Scoundrelsong – At Paradox for approval.

Indexing

  • TC Anima

At Press

  • TC Anima – Errata incorporation this week so we can get the index going.
  • TC: Adventure! – Printing.
  • TC Adventure Storyguide Screen and Booklet – Printer quoting.
  • Exalted Essence – Quoting with Printers.
  • W20 Apocalyptic Record – Interior and endpages done… working on LtD cover.
  • W20 Apocalyptic Record Screen & Booklet – Printer quoting.
  • M20 Lore of the Traditions – Entering XXs and prepping for PoD (and print). Also working on the printer quote for the LtD version.
  • Legendlore: Legacies of Earth – PoD files uploaded.
  • Ex 3 Crucible of Legends – Should be doing errata incorporation this week.
  • TC Assassins VTT Adventure – TC Assassins VTT Adventure errata ends Wednesday.
  • Scion Dragon: Library Tasty Bit PDF on sale Weds on DTRPG!

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Today is the birthday of the King: Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium’s major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew up in New York City and in 1940, he and writer-editor Joe Simon created Captain America for Timely Comics, predecessor of Marvel Comics. After serving in the European Theater in World War II, Kirby produced work for DC Comics, Harvey Comics, and other publishers. Kirby was involved in Timely’s 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics, which in the next decade became Marvel. There, in the 1960s, Kirby co-created with Stan Lee many of the company’s major characters, including the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Ant-Man, Thor, Iron Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Silver Surfer, and the Black Panther, among numerous others. In 1970, feeling he had been treated unfairly, largely in the realm of authorship credit and creators’ rights, Kirby left the company for rival DC where he created his Fourth World saga which spanned several comics titles. Truly a giant in terms of the art that he was famous for, he also conceptualized and wrote of mammoth, epic, and even cosmic storylines. Kirby was what TTRPGers would call a World Builder, and is truly one of the greats – and an inspiration for most of the modern myths playing out in comics, TV, and films (and TTRPGs) to this day!

8 thoughts on “DAWN OF THE TITANS! [Monday Meeting Notes]”

  1. I apologize if I missed this. Was Changeling’s supplement, The Hedge released? Is it still in the works? This was something I was greatly looking forward to, but I couldn’t find it on Drivethru.

    Reply
  2. RIP to the King! Jack Kirby has inspired so many IPs throughout the decades, including many elements of the RPGs we play and love today.

    Reply
  3. Deviant: The Renegades: The Clades Companion
    any idea why this one has been in art direction so long? I know the art style for this line has got to be a bit weird to manifest, but it seems like it has gone on for ever

    Reply
    • There are many reasons for why a project takes time in art direction, and we really don’t find it helps the process to go into that amount of detail on any given stage of production. You do hit on one of the aspects of ADing that has changed since we started getting art for the CofD 2e books in that there are fewer and fewer artists that want to work in the b&w style we use in order to then apply the color used in the duotones for CofD books. Art software has seriously reduced the time it takes to do color illos and narrowed the gap between what is needed for b&w(greyscale) art and color. So, it makes sense for artists to prefer to work in color as that is often paid for at a higher rate. Makes it a tad harder to find artists who can bring the excellent quality our community deserves and demands!

      Reply

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